If you’re an X-Men fan, you’ve probably already heard the rumors that an X-Men: First Class movie is in the works. The XM:FC comics are great; they feature the original X-Men team and their often funny adventures when things were just starting to roll at Xavier’s place. The XM:FC movie, on the other hand, would still be set within the universe created by Bryan Singer.

The current rumor is that Matthew Vaughn, director of Kick-Ass, has been offered the director’s seat and has apparently turned it down.

I’ll admit that I haven’t been watching news about this movie very closely. I’m still pissed about X-Men: The Last Stand, and I don’t have a lot of faith in Fox to not completely screw up this movie.

So why this post? Because I’d like to take a moment and plead with the powers that be to reboot the X-Men series. I know, I know, I’m as sick as you are of reboots, especially of series that came out ten years ago. Does Spiderman need to be rebooted? Nah. But hear me out.

See, one of the things I absolutely adore about the XM:FC comic book is the camaraderie between the original five X-Men. Scott’s the solid one, Warren’s the flighty one (pun intended), Hank is the smart one, Bobby is the smartass, and Jean is… Jean (i.e. awesome). They work together very well, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch these five young people become close friends and a coherent team.

I want to see that on the big screen.

If Fox goes ahead and makes a First Class movie with the movieverse’s original team, we’d have Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Beast… As much as I like Storm in the comics (Halle Berry was terrible in the movies; sorry to her fans), there’s just not the same dynamic in that group as there would be in… well, any group with Iceman included.

So as much as I’m hesitant at the idea of rebooting every series that ever made money, I’d really like to see Marvel Studios start fresh with the X-Men.

Related posts:

1. X-Men 3 according to Michael Dougherty
2. Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic Trailer
3. Quickie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Mouse Guard by David Petersen

Buy it now: at your local comic shop or bookstore.

Description: Life is hard for mice. Predators lurk outside the safety of town and the war with the weasels is still a recent memory. The Mouse Guard are a group of brave and adventurous mice who patrol the borders of the mouse territory, escort commoners between towns and fight to keep predators and other intruders out. Now a threat has come from within which threatens all they hold dear. It falls to brave Guardsmice Lieam, Kenzie and Saxon and their allies to uncover the plot that might destroy the Guard’s stronghold of Lockhaven.

This review was based on purchased comics (not the hardcover collections.)

WereGeek’s Rating:

Traitorous mice storm Lockhaven

WereGeek’s Review: I managed to pick up the first issue of the first series (Fall 1152) by chance in my local comic book shop. When I found it, it was already on its second printing. After one read, I was sure I’d never get a second printing issue again. It was love at first sight! The world in which these anthropomorphized mice live has a very early medieval feel and the Guardsmice themselves remind me of classic knights: strong, brave, skilled, maybe a little foolhardy and willing to die for their ideals. The artwork is absolutely beautiful and the storytelling has a depth and a pace that will hook you and not let go. Petersen’s artwork is so detailed, some backgrounds almost look traced (in the best sense of the word). One of the covers from the second miniseries (Winter 1152) shows Guardsmouse Saxon lying on a pile of mouse skeletons so detailed Petersen must have spent hours drawing mousie long bones and vertebrae.

There are currently twelve comic issues out, two series of six issues each (and a hardcover version of each series). A new anthology miniseries, Legends of the Guard, is due to begin in May 2010. Another series, The Black Axe, is due in September 2010. I can’t wait! When I collect my comics, I’m always disappointed if there’s not a Mouse Guard waiting for me and its always the first I read as soon as I get home. I really do love them that much. In fact, my only complaint is that the wait is so long between issues and even worse between series. If those long waits are what it takes to keep the quality as high as it has been though, I will more than gladly wait until the next installment. Just don’t begrudge me my antsiness waiting for the next chapter.

If you’re new to the world of Mouse Guard, you don’t have long to wait for a free introduction! There’s a special two-sided Mouse Guard comic paired with Fraggle Rock coming out for Free Comic Book Day May 1st! Visit www.freecomicbookday.com to find your local participating retailer!

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Marvel has announced a new comics anthology, set to debut in March of 2010, called Girl Comics.

A few months ago Marvel announced that 2010 would see a big push for some events built around women — as characters, as creators and as readers. Here’s one of the first projects out of the box, GIRL COMICS, a three-issue anthology mini series much in the spirit of STRANGE TALES, featuring comics created exclusively BY women. And that means writing lettering, drawing — everything. Contributors include Kathryn Immonen, Marjorie Liu, Devin Grayson, Ann Nocenti, Trina Robbins, G. Willow Wilson, Stephanie Buscema, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson, Louise Simonson, Valerie D’Orazio, Colleen Coover, Molly Crabapple, Nikki Cook, Ming Doyle, Abby Denson and Carla Speed McNeil. The book is edited by Jeanine Schaefer, and we’re happy to debut the cover of the first issue, by Amanda Conner, colored by Laura Martin.

The first issue is planned for March to tie in with Women’s History Month — 2010 is both the 30th anniversary of the founding of the National Women’s History Project AND the first appearance of She-Hulk.

PublishersWeekly’s blog The Beat has an interview with Jeanine Schaefer. I love that the anthology isn’t necessarily about female characters, but rather female creators and the stories they can tell. And while I’m very pleased that Marvel is doing this, I also have to wonder… why don’t these writers and artists show up in Marvel’s regular lineup?

Edit: Random thought addition. Tony’s moustache in the cover up there is pretty cunning, but my favorite bit is Logan and Storm in the background. I love the look on Storm’s face. :D

Related posts:

1. Newsflash: Girls DO read comics! Holy crap!
2. Disney acquires Marvel; the world does not end
3. Comics v. Graphic Novels?

Marvel has released the trailer for the first episode of its Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic. Check it out:

iFanboy Exclusive: Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic Trailer from Ron Richards on Vimeo.

I’m not sure if I’m on board with the motion comic thing. It’s definitely an interesting step, and with the continuous leaps ahead in technology, this kind of thing probably will be the future of comics. But at the same time… am I the only one who found it a bit creepy? Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with Cassaday’s art in the original comics, but seeing them move, almost as if it was animated, is a bit eerie.

Related posts:

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer!
2. X-Men: First Class… coming to the big screen?
3. Wolverine Anime Trailer

Wolverine hates Brett Ratner, too.

Ratner gave an interview to Starpulse in which he bitched, moaned, and whined about how mean the “comic book geeks” are, and how we’re rabid fans who don’t understand his genius, etc, etc. Lucky for me, Screen Rant already ripped his interview to shreds and called him on all of his bullshit rationalizing as to why fans of the franchise which he was supposed to extend hate his movie.

My favorite bit of Ratner bleating: “Mine was the one that made the most narrative sense. And I’m not knocking Bryan’s movie but he just does a certain thing; Bryan uses his brain and I use my eye and my instincts more. It’s a whole different approach to making a movie. I’m not saying my movie wasn’t smart; I just wasn’t intellectualizing it. I was just looking at it as pure entertainment value which is what it was.”

Yours was the one that made the most narrative sense? Really, Ratner? Because from where I’m sitting, as a fan of the comic books and the movie franchise as well as someone who’s trained to analyze narrative, yours was the one that made the least sense. You tried to cram two completely separate comics-based storylines into an hour and forty-five minutes. The narrative sucked. While I can admit that killing Professor Xavier was a bold, interesting move, killing of Cyclops was just ridiculous. I’m not a Cyclops fan by any stretch, but for god’s sake, what was the point in that?

Singer’s two X-Men films were miles above Ratner’s precisely because he used his head. Singer knew that the storyline was ripe for comparisons with modern events, and by using his brain, as Ratner puts it, he was able to create a superhero film that wasn’t just explosions and BIFF! POW! and hot chicks in leather suits. Ratner’s film wasn’t particularly smart, though he did want to give it the veneer of intelligence. The cure storyline, taken from Joss Whedon’s run on the Astonishing X-Men title could have dealt with very serious emotional issues for mutants. In the comics, Hank McCoy really struggles with the decision to use it or condemn it, because he’s had to live most of his adult life in a less than human form and faced even more fear and hatred from humans for it. What did Ratner do with it? He gave Rogue some teen angst and then depowered Magneto, OMG!

Yeah. It’s so smart my brain can’t handle Ratner’s dizzying intellect.

And this comment: “When I was a kid and used to watch that cartoon it was just fun. It wasn’t a deeper meaning for me when I watched the cartoon as a kid. I didn’t read the comic books but it doesn’t matter, the cartoon is the same f*cking thing.”

I… I… I’m sorry, my brain just exploded. The cartoons were certainly not the same thing as the comic books, dude. Saying this pretty much cemented the opinion that you were the absolute WRONG person to direct an X-Men film. The cartoon was silly and fun, therefore I don’t need to use an ounce of intelligence when I make the third movie!

I’m beating my head on the desk right now.

While yeah, the fans are pretty harsh on Ratner, I say it’s justified. He inherited a project that two directors had already backed out of and then screwed the pooch with it. So he can piss and moan all he likes, but the fans are going to keep ripping him a new one as long as he stays on our radar. Honestly, he should probably just shut up about it and go back to making Rush Hour 18 or whatever his new project is.

Related posts:

1. X-Men: First Class… coming to the big screen?
2. X-Men 3 according to Michael Dougherty
3. Wolverine DVD/Blu-ray News!

So. News broke yesterday that Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is being acquired by Disney to the tune of $4 billion.

Predictably, Twitter and the blog’verse exploded. This morning, I ran across no less than ten separate posts with “funny” Marvel/Disney crossovers. Guys, Mickey Mouse fighting alongside Wolverine is only slightly funny the first time.

So, I’m not going to wail and gnash my teeth just yet, and I’m certainly not going to post my own top ten involving Minnie Mouse being inserted into the Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops/Emma Frost love quadrangle. I’ve got to admit that I’m slightly worried about what will happen to both the comics and the movies if Disney decides to assert creative control over Marvel, but there’s been no solid indication of that so far, so I’m just going to sit here with my fingers crossed and hope that my beloved Wolverine remains as pissy and violent as usual.

I think RichL1 said it best: Please stop talking about Marvel and Disney now.

In other news, Fox is planning to reboot the Fantastic Four movie franchise.

…

Dear god, why? I mean… okay, confession time. I actually liked the first Fantastic Four movie. Sure, it was ridiculous and why in god’s name would anyone cast Jessica Alba as Sue Storm? but it knew that it was silly and played that up. It wasn’t great cinema, but it was fun. (I make no comment on the second film, though.)

I just get the feeling that Hollywood is peeing their pants with excitement because the Star Trek reboot did so spectacularly. In an ongoing attempt to not have to create anything original, they’ve now decided to reboot everything.

Oh boy.

…er, I appear to have woken up grumpy this morning. I’m going to go load up on hot tea and finish reading some stuff for class tonight. The new semester started yesterday and the inundation of reading for class as begun.

Related posts:

1. Marvel announces GIRL COMICS!
2. X-Men: First Class… coming to the big screen?
3. Running away with the circus, brb.

Welcome to The Discriminating Fangirl’s inaugural Hump Day Round Table! This week, we discuss the best media we consumed this week, be it movies, books, tv, comics, or what the heck ever.

Binary Betty

Binary Betty is on vacation this week!

Book Ali

Book Ali is moving into the dorms this week! Can’t write when the computer’s packed up!

Lord Fanny

The movie begins with scenes of dancing feet and Kenny Loggins’ unforgettable title tune, “Footloose.” It’s rather ridiculous looking; a pair of dancing, sneaker clad feet is replaced by dancing high heels, which are replaced by dancing boots. You don’t really think about how ridiculous single aspects of dancing look until attention is drawn to them. But I think that’s part of the point of the movie, which was made for a tween-teen audience; dancing looks ridiculous, and there’s nothing middle and high school students hate more than the thought of looking ridiculous. I would argue that for pubescent boys, dancing is one of the most terrifying activities one can ponder. Very few boys feel like they can dance; most of them are mortified at the thought. Yet dancing is a required social activity in school, especially if one wants to “hook up,” “score,” “get some,” or even “go steady.” Girls seem to love dancing just as much as guys hate it, which leaves the boys perpetually confused, and eventually might even teach them a few life lessons. Sometimes, to get what one wants, one has to do unpleasant things. Sometimes those unpleasant things turn out to be not so bad. And sometimes, it doesn’t really matter what others think of you.

From there the movie cuts to idyllic scenes from a small farm town. Jonathan Lithgow’s voice rings out over the fields and mountains, his words the timeless refrain of those who don’t understand how they got so old:

“And he is testing us. Every, every day, our Lord is testing us. If he wasn’t testing us, how would you account for the sorry state of our society? For the crimes that plague the big cities of this country, when he could sweep this pestilence from the face of the earth with one mighty gesture of his hand? If our Lord wasn’t testing us, how would you account for the proliferation these days of this obscene rock and roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality? If our Lord wasn’t testing us, why, he could take all these pornographic books and albums and turn them into one big fiery cinder like that! But how would that make us stronger for him?”

Lithgow, the preacher for this small Midwestern town, sets up the entire movie as an epic struggle between good and evil, with rock and roll and dancing playing the part of the devil. It would be easy to write Lithgow’s character off as hopelessly old-fashioned and outdated. But his character is not a flat stereotype, as he shows repeatedly throughout the movie. He may be the primary antagonist, but he is acting on good faith and intentions.

So why is Footloose one of my favorite movies ever? Well, there’s the kickin’ 80s soundtrack. There’s Kevin Bacon, who’s yummy, but there’s also the fact that it’s a positive teen movie. Look at the specifics: What are the teens in Footloose guilty of? Wanting to dance. They’re not drug users or dealers; as a matter of fact, drugs are utilized in the movie to identify the “bad” guys, Chuck and his crew. They’re not fornicating or fighting or tearing shit up. They just wanna dance. And by the time the credits roll, we’ve seen a positive teen role model help to energize a high school and force members of the adult community to deal with the teens with respect instead of condescension. Good vs evil, old vs young, order vs chaos… It’s all there, just waiting to cut loose…

(It also helps to watch the movie as if it were a musical… The scene where Ren (Kevin Bacon) dances out his frustrations with the town can be a little bit goofy otherwise…)

Strangeness Abounds

Due to the recent commencement of a quest for “something truly, genuinely, smartly funny,” I came across Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (I was born in 1987, so yes, there is some media considered “classic” that I have not yet discovered). Irreverent in religious humor and full of delightful irony, The Pythons reach a zenith through The Meaning of Life. To top it all off, the running credits show that the versatile main actors (The Pythons) also wrote the sketches and original songs. Let’s hear it for multi-talented entertainers!

My personal favorite sketch would be Episode 1: Birth in which a new young mother gives birth in a sterile, machine-laden operating room. The irony that the doctors and nurses treat the machines and the administrator’s opinion as far more valuable than the new mother is both true to life and hilarious. My favorite quote within this sketch:

New Mother [panting, sweating]: To Doctor – “What do I do?!”

Doctor: “Nothing, dear! You’re not qualified!”

I highly recommend the entire film for those who enjoy a hearty bowl of English humor chowder.

TDF Pamela

As I was wandering around in the comic book store today, looking for new issues that I might like, I came across an X-Force trade paperback. It was volume two, but I’ve been curious about that title for a while (and being the lazy comic book buyer that I am, I just hadn’t picked it up yet) so I bought it. And then I went to two separate Borders stores to find volume 1. Because it’s one of those kind of days, the ones where I latch onto something (in this case, Wolverine) and spend pretty much the whole day in that headspace.

So, I sat down today and read X-Force Volume 1: Angels And Demons.

Oh my god, I love this title. Why the hell didn’t I start buying it when it came out? I have no idea! But I love it!

This is the line the X-Men never would cross, but Cyclops has finally realized that there are things that just need to be done. Nasty things like revenge and torture and murder, things that he wouldn’t put on any of the X-Men’s hands, but if they have to be done… what do you do?

You call Wolverine, of course.

I love Wolverine’s conscience; he knows he’s damaged goods and will happily take out the Purifiers, a bunch of religious zealots formerly run by William Stryker who are bent on purging mutants from the world. But Logan doesn’t want vengeful murder to be on Rahne, Warpath, and Laura/X-23′s consciences. Wolvie’s got enough blood on his hands that he believes it’ll never come off; he’ll never be completely free of all the things he’s done. But he doesn’t want the others to become what he thinks he is. Oh, Wolvie. I LOVE that he decks Cyke when Cyke tells him that he’s already asked Laura to join the team.

It’s kind of nice to have a team-based book with the same level of violence that the mature-rated Wolverine titles have. It’s also nice to see Wolverine have to take on the mantle of leader despite his own hesitation and his protests that he’s no leader. This works with his show of conscience; he’s now responsible for the team, not just his own ass, and he knows that he’s responsible for turning them into murders, just like him. I’m really hoping we’ll get some serious, dirty character development out of this title. Same goes for Laura; I love seeing her struggle to understand what being human means, instead of just being a weapon. It’s a very nice juxtaposition against Wolverine’s internal struggles.

And the cast of villains? AWESOME. That’s all I’ll say.

The artwork, by Clayton Crain, is amazing. It’s very dark but incredibly clear and downright beautiful, even when he’s drawing scenes of carnage. And the artwork meshes perfectly with the storytelling, so the story progression is clear and understandable. If that sounds like something weird to observe, I’ll just say that I’ve been reading a lot of Claremont lately and leave it at that.

One last thought: HOORAY FEMALE SHIELD LEADERS!

Related posts:

1. Hump Day Round Table #3
2. Hump Day Round Table #2: LOLZ
3. Wolverine Anime Trailer

Before we move too much further into the metafictional world of Grant Morrison, I want to make sure we’re firm on a few definitions.  “Metafiction,” being a term that will get tossed around a lot on this blog, deserves first consideration for a definition. In the book Metafiction:  The Theory and Practise of Self-Conscious Fiction, Patricia Waugh identifies metafiction as “a term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality” (2). More importantly, Waugh asserts that in all metafiction there is a “complex implicit interdependence of levels… The fictional content of the story is continually reflected by its formal existence as text, and the existence of that text within a world viewed in terms of ‘textuality’” (15).

Let’s parse that chunk of text a bit, shall we?  First, metafiction is aware of itself as fiction, and draws attention to this status, supposedly for the purpose of inducing philosophicizing about the true nature of reality.  So metafiction is a great topic of discussion at stoner parties.  And anytime you read a story involving characters who are in some way aware of their status as characters in a story, you have metafiction.  In comic books, characters like Deadpool, Ambush Bug, She-Hulk, and Animal Man have all been associated with metafiction.

So at its most basic, metafiction involves fiction that is self-aware.  Deadpool referencing comic book issue numbers fits this basic definition.  But metafiction also strives to question the nature of reality by presenting multiple layers of reality; this is why issue #5 of Animal Man is metafiction.  When multiple layers of reality are revealed, with framing that suggests the construction of fiction, that is also metafiction.  Crafty’s creator assuming the guise of an artist, who is then shown affecting Animal Man’s world by painting in Crafty’s blood, is almost as shocking a moment as when Neo first wakes up in the Matrix (which is also metafictional, on many levels).

It’s my belief that superhero comics are especially suited for metafiction, for a few reasons.  First, most superhero universes already accept and utilize the concept of multiple dimensions/universes/realities.  Superhero fans typically have no problem wrapping their minds around the concept of different versions of the same character.  Second, superhero comics already have a long history of utilizing metafiction, with the Silver Age Flash being featured in a number of metafictional situations and covers.  Finally, as a medium that’s made up of text and pictures, comic books can be metafictional with very little effort.  Text alone requires a certain amount of set-up to insert metafiction, while pictures alone might have trouble being seen as metafictional (although pictures, I think, are more easily adapted to metafiction than text).  But utilizing both together allows the creator to seamlessly insert metafictional characters and concepts without much if any disturbance to the narrative.

So that’s it for this week.  More Animal Man next week.  What are some of your favorite examples of comic book metafiction?  Hell, it doesn’t even have to be comic book based; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is to some extent metafictional because Ferris speaks to the audience!

Related posts:

1. The Obligatory Intro…
2. Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic Trailer
3. Revalysis-Animal Man Volume 1 by Grant Morrison and Chas Truog